This invention relates generally to marking of semiconductor dice bearing integrated circuits and, more specifically, to a system for laser marking exterior surfaces of dice carried in large groups on trays and a method of system operation.
Since the first packaged integrated circuits became commercially available, manufacturers have often found it necessary to identify packaged ICs by marking each IC or packaged assembly of ICs with the manufacturer""s name, a part or serial number, or other identifying information such as a lot number or a wafer and/or die location. As the majority of ICs are packaged individually in a transfer-molded filled polymer compound, most current marking systems have been developed for this type of IC packaging.
Manufacturers initially marked packaged ICs using mechanical ink transferring devices, such as stamps or rollers, with or without stencils, to transfer ink to the surface of an IC. One example of an ink-marking apparatus is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,226,361 to Grant et al. Because of the mechanical nature of the process and the drying time associated with ink, ink stamping systems are relatively slow and the applied ink susceptible to smudging. Also, the quality of ink-stamped marks on packaged ICs can vary substantially over time and from IC to IC due to variations in the quality and quantity of ink applied, ambient temperature and humidity, and the condition and finish of the surface of the stamp and the package.
Because of the deficiencies associated with ink stamping, manufacturers have in recent years switched to using a laser beam to mark the surface of a packaged IC. Unlike ink stamping, laser marking is very fast, requires no curing time, produces a consistently high-quality mark, and can take place at any point in the manufacturing process.
Various machines and methods have been developed for marking ICs with a laser. As illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,357,077 to Tsuruta, U.S. Pat. No. 4,945,204 to Nakamura et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,638,144 to Latta, Jr., and U.S. Pat. No. 4,375,025 to Carlson, a packaged IC is placed in a position where a laser beam, such as that produced by a carbon dioxide or neodymium-yttrium-aluminum garnet laser, inscribes various characters or other information on a package surface. The laser beam burns away a small amount of material on the surface of the IC package so that the area where the characters are to appear has a different reflectivity from the rest of the package surface. By holding the packaged IC at a proper angle to a light source, the characters inscribed on the device by the laser can be read.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,937,270 to Canella, one of the present inventors, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by this reference, discloses yet another laser marking system which is operable at high throughput volumes and makes substantially constant use of a marking laser by use of a multi-track IC feed, marking and inspection procedure. While highly successful, the laser marking system of the ""270 patent feeds singulated, packaged ICs from tubular magazines along two parallel, inclined tracks to a marking zone, after which the marked devices are then automatically inspected and either discarded or re-loaded into other tubular magazines at the output ends of the tracks.
Recently developed IC packages, however, are now much reduced in size, thickness and dimensions of individual features, such as leads for external connection to higher level packaging. One example of such state-of-the-art IC packages is a thin plastic package configuration identified as a Thin Small Outline Package, or TSOP. Another is a Thin Quad Flat Pack, or TQFP. By way of comparison, such packages are dimensioned with a total package thickness, excluding lead fingers, of less than about one-half the thickness of a conventional plastic Small Outline J-lead package, or SOJ, such as would be marked in the above-described system of the ""270 patent. These newer IC packages, with their smaller dimensions and more fragile components, are much more susceptible to inadvertent damage in handling than prior package designs and, at best, are only marginally robust enough for handling in tubular magazines and by singulated feed-through processing equipment. As a result, the industry has gravitated to processing such relatively delicate IC packages in batches carried in recesses of rectangular trays, one example of which are so-called JEDEC trays. Other, even smaller IC packages under current development and most recently introduced to the market include so-called xe2x80x9cchip-scalexe2x80x9d IC packages. These packages, having dimensions approximating those of a bare IC die itself and employing extremely minute external connection elements, also are desirably handled in trays. It is contemplated that such chip-scale packages may be desirably laser marked on the bare or thinly coated back side of the die itself in instances where packaging is largely intended to protect and seal the active surface at the die sides and primarily extends over the sides and active (front) surface of the die. Accordingly, as used herein, the terms xe2x80x9cIC packagexe2x80x9d, xe2x80x9cpackaged ICxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cICxe2x80x9d include not only conventional polymer-encapsulated dice, but any dice incorporating sufficient structure to effect operative connection to a higher level package, such as a circuit card, or to another die.
In addition to the aforementioned difficulties with marking thin, reduced-dimension IC packages using tubular magazines and inclined tracks, feeding and marking singulated IC packages, even when grouped for marking, is time consuming and fraught with potential for workpiece jamming somewhere on the tracks. Further, such an approach requires numerous sensors to verify passage of individual IC packages, location of individual IC packages for marking and inspection, counting of IC packages to ensure full output magazines, prevention of magazine overfilling and jamming, and the handling equipment for the same. Further, movable stops are required to locate and release the IC packages at numerous locations and so, along with the proliferation of sensors, necessitate a somewhat complex and relatively expensive control apparatus for reliable system operation.
Another disadvantage of conventional laser marking systems lies in a safety requirement that the IC packages be enclosed in a laser light-secure enclosure to prevent injury to personnel from the laser beam. Such conventional laser marking systems employ a workpiece path extending in a single plane through the marking station, thus requiring movable access shutters which must be manipulated, resulting in additional system cost and reducing throughput due to the time lost in opening and closing the shutters for entry and exit of groups of IC packages, as well as adding another timed operation to the sequence of events in the marking process.
While trays facilitate moving large batches of packaged ICs while minimizing the risk of physical damage from handling, a problem with using trays to carry IC packages for marking is the need to deal with a wide range of tray-to-part tolerances. Thus, it would be necessary to orient the IC packages in the tray recesses to a common comer of each tray pocket to obtain a repeatable marking of all the IC packages in the tray. It would also be necessary to ensure that trays carrying IC packages are received in various handling and processing mechanisms in the correct orientation, so that the IC packages themselves will be properly oriented.
Another problem encountered with the laser marking of ICs carried in trays is that standard trays are typically larger than the mark field of a single laser marking head. For example, a laser marking head typically includes a single laser capable of marking within a 6 inch by 6 inch field. However, a typical tray for handling IC packages, such as the JEDEC tray, comprises a 12 inch by 6 inch array of ICs. Thus, a tray having a 12 inch by 6 inch array of packaged ICs must be indexed twice with respect to the 6 inch by 6 inch mark field of the laser marking head in order to mark all ICs on the tray.
One method of compensating for the limited mark field of a single laser marking head is to employ a second laser in the laser marking head, the second laser having its own distinct mark field. Another method of compensating for the limited mark field of a single laser marking head, as disclosed in related patent application Ser. No. 09/217,040, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference, is to use a beam splitter to bifurcate the beam of the single laser into two separate beams, each of the two separate beams capable of moving within its own unique mark field. For example, a single laser marking head may have a beam splitter dividing the beam into two separate beams, a first beam traversing a 6 inch by 6 inch mark field and a second beam traversing another 6 inch by 6 inch mark field. Therefore, all of the IC packages carried on a 12 inch by 6 inch tray may be laser marked during a single pass underneath the laser marking head.
Although a laser marking head incorporating multiple lasers, or one using a beam splitter in conjunction with a single laser, may overcome the limitations of a single laser marking head having only a 6 inch by 6 inch mark field, incorporation of either an additional laser or a beam splitter into a laser marking head significantly increases the overall system cost. In contrast, laser marking heads including a single laser traversing only one mark fieldxe2x80x94for example, the 6 inch by 6 inch mark fieldxe2x80x94are much less costly and are readily available on the market. However, as previously indicated, laser marking IC packages carried in trays using a single laser marking head with a small mark field requires that each tray be indexed longitudinally at least twice to mark all ICs carried on the tray. Each additional indexing step increases production time and also increases the likelihood that alignment errors between the laser beam and a trayxe2x80x94and a plurality of ICs carried thereonxe2x80x94will develop.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a mechanically and electrically straightforward laser marking system for use with tray-based IC handling systems that is configured for use with low-cost single laser marking heads currently available on the market. Further, there is a need in the art for such a laser marking system that provides accurate, repeatable, and high-speed indexing of a tray with respect to the mark field, while also providing high and reliable throughput of marked IC packages.
The present invention includes a tray-based laser marking system providing accurate and repeatable high-speed rotational indexing of a tray and the IC packages carried thereon.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the laser marking system includes a laser marking station having a walled, open-bottomed enclosure and a rotational lift mechanism associated therewith for insertion, rotational indexing, and withdrawal of a tray carrier bearing a tray of unmarked IC packages relative to the open-bottomed enclosure of the laser marking station. The laser marking station houses a single laser marking head within the open-bottomed enclosure. The open-bottomed enclosure of the laser marking station defines an opening into which the tray carrier, bearing a tray of IC packages to be marked, may be raised and indexed by the rotational lift mechanism to place the tray at correct laser focal length and to effect complete (laser) light containment within the enclosure using the tray carrier to effect closure of the opening.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the rotational lift mechanism comprises a vertical lift mechanism, a rotary actuator assembly, and a tray manipulator. The tray manipulator is configured to engage a tray carrier, and a tray bearing IC packages supported thereon, so that the tray carrier may be manipulated with respect to the laser marking station. The rotary actuator assembly includes a rotary actuator having an output shaft secured to the tray manipulator to effect rotation of the tray manipulator, and a tray carrier engaged therewith, relative to the laser marking station. Thus, the rotary actuator assembly provides for rotational indexing of a tray carried by the tray carrier relative to the mark field of the laser marking head. The rotary actuator assembly is secured to the vertical lift mechanism, which may be a wedge-type lift mechanism as hereinafter described, such that the tray manipulator may be moved vertically with respect to the laser marking station.
A further embodiment of the invention includes a method of operation of the laser marking system of the invention.